Australian cricket great Mike Hussey admits he wondered "why me" when he tested positive for COVID-19 during the Indian Premier League.
Hussey, a batting coach for Chennai Super Kings, was one of a number of of IPL participants who caught coronavirus despite biosecurity protocols, prompting the tournament's suspension.
The champion batsman said that he felt secure in the IPL's Mumbai bubble but was exposed to risk when the tournament moved to Delhi. He isn't sure precisely when or how he caught COVID-19 but was diagnosed as positive on May 3, amid an explosion of coronavirus cases in India.
"I wasn't surprised," he told Fox Sports. "I was a bit like, 'Oh gosh, why me', but I didn't really think too much at all. I thought it was a bit of a shame."
Hussey had a bad cough, fever and felt "really tired", though fortunately avoided more extreme symptoms.
"I certainly wasn't worried about my breathing or things like that. It was just a bit annoying, really," he said.
"Looking back on it now, it probably did knock me around a bit more than I thought at the time. At the time, I thought I didn't feel great but not life-threatening or anything like that. But it does take its toll on you after a while, I guess."
Hussey is now completing hotel quarantine in Australia. He ultimately returned home with the rest of Australia's IPL contingent, despite concerns that he may need to be left behind in India. He completed a 10-day isolation in India then travelled via Doha on a commercial flight.
"I wasn't thinking about (getting home) too much to start with. I was focusing on just trying to get better again, really," he told Fox Sports.
"My initial test came up as a weak positive and we were sort of hoping the next would be negative and it'd be all right, but unfortunately I got retested the next day and that came back positive.
"To be honest, I had already started feeling some of the symptoms and so I was thinking, 'I'm pretty sure I've got it'.
"Plus, I was sitting next to the bowling coach on the bus a few times, so I thought, 'If he's got it then there's a pretty good chance I've got it as well'."
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